The all-inclusive pre Notting Hill Carnival warm up fete.

I can’t remember the last time I went to an all-inclusive fete in the UK especially one that was poolside.

I like the direction Poison UK are going with their fete structure. So far they have done a great band launch, a packed foam party, this all-inclusive fete and to come is a concert with some top international artistes. The UK needs fetes like these around carnival time to offer more of a ‘carnival package’ to all revellers, local and foreign.

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The turnout for Fantasy Island was low. It would have been nice to have 50-100 more people attend. The event started at 6pm on what was an usually sunny day. Some say they would have liked it to start earlier so they could have made more of a day out of it. Giving them more time to lime in the sun and maybe even go in the pool.

BTW: the pool itself was out of bounds. Even if it wasn’t I’m not sure many would have gone in, it looked cold.

The stage was set up at the far end of the pool as was everything else, the food and the drinks. It was all open air which was a very brave move considering the UK weather. Lucky there was no rain, but the temperature did drop a little.

Despite the low turnout and the drop in temperature we were entertained by Soca Mafia, DJ Tate, Triple M and Martin Jay. They had the poolside revellers rocking from start to finish.

Hasan De Four, the Caribbean Chef can really cook. The food was amazing and there was loads of it. I had 2 plates and would of happily gone back for more if I didn’t have to take pictures.

The bar was well stocked to start with, but some of the key drinks ran out. This wasn’t much of an issue for most but definitely something to look into for the next one.

The Stage Show

Konata Alleyne, one of the UK’s hardest working soca artistes opened the performance with some of his hits. He then went on to sing some classic soca / calypso songs which the crowd appreciated.

Destra Garcia. Wow. She was loved by all. Her performance was nice. She had the crowd singing at the top of their lungs and eating out of her hands. (Look out for our video, coming soon). Unfortunately her show had to be cut short (due to the damn council). However she was on the stage for about an hour and in that hour we got to hear and see her perform most of her big tracks.

All-in-all: There is room for improvement (as with everything) but I like the event. It was different to the norm, it delivered what it promised to deliver and I will definitely attend another one.

Destra Live On Stage

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